Proceedings Library

Cyclamens are considered an important crop for winter to supplement the income of enterprises during the cold season. Container grown cyclamens are considered an expensive commercial horticultural crop where growth media is seen as a factor which contributes significantly to the production costs. The economic landscape in South Africa dictates that production costs are kept as low as possible without compromising on quality. Determining the most suitable growth media and maintaining quality would be beneficial for the cyclamen growers. It would not only enhance plant growth, decrease disease, and pest management but allow for competitive prices at the market. The focus of this study was on the comparison of seven growth media in order to determine the most suitable growth media for the South African environment. Existing scholarly and trade literature together with the existing growth media commercially available determined the selection of growth media for the study.

Plant quality can be defined as ?fitness for purpose? and described as a plant?s ability to survive and grow after planting (Mattsson, 1996). Various morphological and physiological plant parameters have been used to measure plant quality in forestry and have been quantitatively linked to increased establishment success (Rose et al., 1990). Many factors can affect plant survival and subsequent growth; these include genetic variability, nursery practice, handling, and transportation of plants as well as silvicultural practices at planting. The potential gains from high quality planting stock in forestry in combination with good silvicultural practices are additive and lead to optimum stocking as well as volume growth ((South et al., 2005). The responsibility of nurseries is to ensure that plants with the highest possible chance of survival, that is plants of high quality, are supplied to end users. It is, however, also important to note that producing seedlings and cuttings which meet the desired plant quality specifications do not guarantee that plants will survive, but rather that it guarantees the probability of those plant surviving under normal conditions (Grossnickle, 2012). In much the same way, seed germination estimates the best possible germination under ideal conditions but does not provide a guarantee on the final nursery germination success as this may be confounded by many independent nursery factors.

"Indigenous" often has the unfortunate reputation of being dull and difficult to grow, often because there has been little or no selection on the plant before its release onto the market. As a result, unselected and unbred wild plants will always pale in grandeur against the highly bred petunias, pansies, and practically every other plant you will find in a commercial nursery nowadays. One of the objectives of the horticultural operations at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is to promote indigenous plants by introducing new selections into the industry. Horticulturists at Kirstenbosch have undertaken limited plant breeding projects, like Plectranthus ‘Plepalila’, Simply Beautiful^® Mona Lavender plectranthus PP13,858 for example, but generally the gardens don’t have the capacity to undertake in-depth plant selection programmes.

Young plant production involves a series of processes in common with manufacturing in other industries, which include inventory control of inputs (trays, substrate, fertilizer, etc.), assembly (filling trays, sticking cuttings, or sowing seed), material transport (placement in the greenhouse), quality control (patching or fixing trays), order pulling, and shipping. Growing (irrigation, climate management, height control, fertilization, etc.) is the least standardized part of young plant production. However, even with growing processes, well-defined and standardized crop plans are more achievable in propagation than with most other horticulture products, because multiple crops are grown each season with short production times.

• P. (Adiantifolius Group) ‘Adiantifolius’
• (P. lessonii × P. crassifolius) P. (Adiantifolius Group) ‘Cyril Watson’ (P. lessonii × P. crassifolius)
• P. lessonii (syn. discolor) ‘Rangatira’
• P. ‘Purpureus’ (P. lessonii × P. discolor)
• P. lessonii ‘Gold Splash’

The first things needed in the fundamentals of plant breeding, in my opinion, is to have a passion for what you are doing and an enjoyment of working with the particular plant group you have chosen. Secondly, know your topic. Have some knowledge of the where, how, and why the plants you have chosen grow where and the way they do. Once you have a background to your topic you will need some mature stocks that are flowering. This is the time to go hard and try anything, have an idea of what you think you want to achieve but try all combinations and see what results occur from a little experimenting. The final product may be amazing or a complete failure, but whatever happens at least you will have given it a go.

The genus Clivia is a relatively small group in the plant kingdom, consisting of six species from Southern Africa.

Using examples of both herbaceous and woody perennial plant species, this presentation profiles research focused on plant architecture currently being undertaken at Plant & Food Research. At this time, the primary focus of these investigations is branching. In terms of most crops of interest, but especially those grown for ornamental purposes, the extent of branching directly relates to our ability to deliver plants of high quality, by their visual "fullness" (Funnell, 2011).

Before exploring our recent experiences, it’s worth considering a little background information about branching in plants. We accept that plant growth regulators, which naturally occur in plants, effectively control the amount of branching that occurs (Shimizu-Sato et al., 2009). Auxins, one of the key groups of plant growth regulators involved, are produced within the apical buds and developing leaves of plants. Once produced, these auxins are transported downwards within the plant. At the same time, however, cytokinins are often produced by the plant in its roots, and are transported upwards. If we try to keep it simple, the net result of this production and transport of both auxins and cytokinins is that whether or not a bud grows out to become a branch is the net result of the antagonistic effects of auxins and cytokinins.

Straight away one of the most obvious and common themes from all of the growers I visited was that the industry was generally in a depressed state with lower demand, due to the ongoing recession. This was visible everywhere I went to varying degrees, with growing sites partially bare and abandoned growing sites dotted around the countryside. One of the flow-on effects of a market in an oversupplied state is huge price point competition between companies; with some growers I visited wholesaling a no.1 potted shrub for as low as $2.30, and one of the big box chains selling three, no. 1, potted perennials for $9.99. These prices are so low that they would be completely unsustainable in New Zealand (even though many costs are also lower in the USA), and in fact many growers I spoke to felt they were also unsustainable in the USA. Many were focused not so much on producing profits as they were on surviving and maintaining market share for the time when the industry picks up again.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae-Virulent is a gram negative flagellated bacterium that can spread through weather, namely wind and rain, and through the movement of infected plants, rootstocks, plant material, contaminated orchard machinery, tools, equipment, and people. It causes disease to kiwifruit vines only, and poses no risk to human or animal health. Some kiwifruit cultivars, such as Hort16A, are more vulnerable to Psa-V than others. However all cultivars are susceptible to the disease. Therefore, best-practice management must be applied to all cultivars, in all regions, to help achieve successful growth in a Psa-V environment.

Pingao (Ficinia spiralis), sometimes called the golden sand sedge, is an endemic native sand-binding plant. It grows naturally on the most active of coastal foredunes and is not found anywhere else in the world.

Before European colonisation, pingao was widespread through the North and South Islands of New Zealand (Cockayne, 1911). It was used by Maori to decorate their wharenui (meeting houses), in the tukutuku paneling and in weaving kete (kits), and whariki (mats). However the introduction of farm animals and the spread of goats and rabbits decimated the colonies of pingao. The spread of maram grass (Ammophila arenaria) and lupins (Lupinus sp.) and other European grasses choked out pingao. More recently dune buggies and trail bikes have mutilated the sand hills.

The two options that come to mind are:

Option 1

You allow poor planning, management deficiencies, and poor execution to ruin your results, or

Option 2

You do everything well and on time. The seasons don’t wait.

SIX ASPECTS TO SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISHMENT

In common with exotic species there are six aspects to the successful establishment of natives.

Planning and Site Preparation

Plan in advance. Site preparation involving fencing, weed spraying, and animal control may have to start 2 years in advance. Machinery may be required. Order planting stock in advance so that species you want are available and of the quality that you require and nurseries have time to grow them.

A highlight of those 2 days was seeing the Golden Temple just as the sun was setting. Absolutely beautiful. We also visited the Kyoto Botanical Gardens.

We then caught the Shinkansen to Toyohashi and I spent another two nights there. Akimi showed me around her business, Verde, and we also visited some other members of the IPPS and a large garden centre.

On Day 5, after some more sightseeing and visiting members, Akimi drove me to the home of the Uchida family in Suzuka. I stayed with them and worked in the nursery for the next 4 days. I mainly worked with the strawberry crops but also helped to pack some figs and take them to the farmers market.

At the core of this amazing plant source is the holy trinity of Magnolia, Camellia, and Rhododendron. How many gardens do you know without any of these key plants? I could make a very long list of other Himalayan plants. The large conifers: Picea (spruces), Larix (larches), Abies (firs), Pinus (pines), and Cedrus (cedars). There are many palms, bamboos, and many orchids, including Cymbidium, from this area. Lots of garden trees and shrubs including roses, Viburnum, Cotoneaster, Daphne, Michelia (see Magnolia), Philadelphus, Deutzia, Pieris, Acer, etc. There is a huge range of beautiful herbaceous alpine plants such as Primula. In fact when you are in this zone you could easily imagine you are in a garden. Many of our garden centres would have Himalayan plants for nearly half their stock.

Thank you for attending the NGIV-IPPS presentation on drugs and alcohol in the workplace. This can be a confusing and controversial issue in any workplace, so we?ll look at some of the main areas of workplace law so see what you may need to consider if you have a problem, or are looking to develop a policy before trouble strikes.

Many people will think of accidents, particularly for employees in dangerous roles such as driving or operating heavy machinery, as a potential outcome of being affected by drugs or alcohol. Although Occupational Health and Safety may be the primary concern and motivation, there are other problems, such as taking "sickies" if hangover or affected by drugs and alcohol, other co-workers becoming disgruntled at a known problem "getting away with it," mistakes in paperwork, or your company being seen as unprofessional. There can be claims such as unfair dismissal or discrimination if a policy is badly drafted, or inequitably implemented or not supported in the workplace.

The food industry is grappling with the impact of globalisation of world markets and the competition which comes from that. The industry is facing a revolution not dissimilar to the industrial revolution experienced by our predecessors over a century ago. The evolution of technologies like biotechnology, real time non-destructive sensing, data processing and communication technology, and the speed of communication have accelerated the pace of change.

The productivity growth in agriculture and horticulture in recent years is due to the ability to converge these technologies into systems that deliver productivity gains for these industries like no other sector of the economy.

Forty years ago the catch cry in agriculture was get big or get out. This is now an outdated paradigm. The new paradigm is to innovate and create points of difference to distinguish your product from the pack. With globalisation it has now become competition for market share, reflected by competition between supply chains which can take business into new, unexplored markets through strategic collaboration and partnerships. The question becomes what does each organisation bring to the partnership to create competitive advantage in the supply chain to offer the consumer value which no one else can?

This research was conduct in conjunction with Dr Justin Rigden, Adelaide Research and Innovation, Adelaide, SA, and collaboration with Humphris Nursery (Victoria), Narromine Transplants (New South Wales), and Yuruga Nursery/Clonal Solutions Australia (Far North Queensland).

It is an example of a long term breeding program with lots of collaboration, funding, hard work and passion that is starting to bear fruit.

The Eucalyptus genus contains unique flora with over 700 species throughout Australia (and its closest northern neighbours) and represents one of Australia’s greatest floral icons. Eucalyptus is the primary tree genus in Australia, and plays a vital role in all Australia?s ecosystems providing habitat for native birds, insects and animals. There are a great number of species that are rarely seen in cultivation, with highly ornamental flowers, leaves, buds, and fruit. Harsh climatic extremes such as those experienced in many places in Australia and other parts of the world have prompted a renewed interest in Australian trees and plants, especially for street and urban landscape plantings, due to their resilient nature.

Most nursery owners in today’s tough times are concerned about the business today and not about the future. This is completely understandable, we all have bills we have to pay.

I don’t know how many nursery owners consider the future, will you still want to be managing the business in 10 years, would you like to enjoy your days fishing or playing a round of golf? Without competent staff to run your business this might be difficult. Ideally you would love to hand down the business to one of your children, what happens if this isn’t possible, where does this leave you?

This is where I would suggest looking towards the future of developing your staff to the best of their abilities. I’m sure you?re thinking that I don’t have staff that are that interested in doing anything else and that’s a valid point, however have you actually asked them what they want out of their job.

So you might ask what I should do to…?

• What first catches the attention of a customer?
• How long does that element hold their attention?
• How many gazes does it attract?
• What area gets the most attention?

This information can be directly related to customer demographics, expressed preference and sales data. The research can provide information to plant producers and garden centres with evidence of what the customer looks at, what factors determine the decision and what they ultimately buy. This research aims to provide the nursery supply chain with unique information on customer behaviour leading to improvements in the shopping experience and enhancing profitable sales.

Oman Botanic Garden (OBG) is currently under construction in the Arabian Peninsula. It is located close to Oman’s capital city, Muscat, and will be open to the public in a few years. The garden is a governmental project and part of the Diwan of Royal Court. The aim of the project is to conserve the biodiversity and botanical heritage of Oman for a sustainable world. The project will do this by displaying the entire flora of the country in naturalistic habitat-style plantings and will include extensive exhibitions about plants and how they are used. The 420-ha site of the botanic garden was selected for its beauty, dramatic landscape and plant diversity, with 10% of Oman’s native flora already naturally present.

The author has been involved in micropropagation since 1976. He undertook a PhD in the technique at Nottingham University before starting his own laboratory and nursery in partnership with his wife, Barbara and, as an IPPS member for all that time, has shared most of the supposed "secrets" of micropropagation.

Micropropagation is labour intensive and is now largely undertaken in regions with cheap labour such as Eastern Europe, India, and China. However, with very careful management and integration into niche markets, there is still a place for it in the U.K. The basics of micropropagation have not changed much over the last 30 years but there has always been a need to control costs and, in the traditional IPPS manner, low investment innovations have been developed by the author both for the laboratory and nursery at Micropropagation Services. These include home-made sterile air cabinets and alternatives to scientific apparatus wherever possible, and the use of gantry mounted mowers for trimming plug plants to improve bushiness and uniformity. Early adoption of innovations, such as the Evaposensor for mist control in weaning has also proved essential to maintain an edge over the competition.

The New Zealand nursery industry has a long history of supplying plants to Europe, particularly to the United Kingdom. Partly this is because of the historical links to "the old country" through the Commonwealth; but New Zealand ’s climatic and geological conditions mean that plants grown there do well in Europe and North America, despite the long distance from these markets. Native plants for the export trade remain a mainstay of production for many New Zealand nurseries, such as Naturally Native and NZ Liners, and will no doubt continue as long as there are European growers looking for new cultivars, forms, and species to introduce and grow.

This paper describes the author ’s experiences of supplying plants to Europe and the U.K. from New Zealand.

The business was established by Theo Alkemade in 1990 as a cut flower nursery and then began producing rooted cuttings on a small scale as a second crop. A few years later his twin brother Wil joined the company and they started specialising in rooted cuttings. As the company developed it expanded to four locations approximately 5 miles apart, which was not very efficient. An opportunity to relocate the whole company to one location arose in 2011. The new location is 30,000 m² and includes 28,000 m² of greenhouse. In 2012, approximately 17 million cuttings of more than 1,000 taxa were produced, half of them are sold in the Netherlands the other half is exported, mainly across Europe. This is achieved with a workforce of 12 and there are up to 15 part-time workers during the busiest periods.

Theo and Wil don ’t want to expand further, so the business will develop by producing better quality cuttings and using the space more efficiently. This can be done by growing the cuttings in a bigger size tray, producing a bigger plant which will give our customers a head start and the chance to produce an extra crop each year.

Kernock Park Plants was established in 1976 by Richard Harnett (then a horticultural advisor), along with his wife Jan. Since then, the nursery has expanded to just over 4.5 ha of polythene and glass on three separate sites. There is a workforce of around 80 during spring and summer, falling to around 50, including permanent staff for the remainder of the year. The nursery produces nearly 1,200 taxa including summer bedding, patio plants, alpines, herbs, hardy and herbaceous perennials, grasses, and shrubs. It is primarily a wholesale business, the main product being plug plants — a range of 9-cm liners having been added recently following the take over of some of the lines previously grown at nearby Hewton Nursery. The nursery has been supplying Proven Winners^® brand plants since 1999.

Whetman Pinks is a family-run nursery in south west England which has specialised in breeding and production of hybrid pinks, sometimes known as show pinks. These hybrids between Dianthus caryophyllus and Dianthus plumarius are a "typically English" garden plant. Whetman has developed these and other hybrid dianthus cultivars as attractive modern garden plants and promoted them in many other countries. In April 2013, Whetman Pinks Ltd was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade, for its achievements in exporting pinks worldwide.

NURSERY HISTORY

Whetman Pinks is located in a sheltered valley near Dawlish on Devon?s south coast. The climate is mild and light levels quite good despite the surrounding hills. There has been a horticulture industry in the area since the 1800s. As well as apples for cider (the nursery used to be a cider factory) the nursery used to grow fruit and vegetables, particularly during the two World Wars when flowers were grown in the hedgerows, as all productive land had to support the war effort. Flower growing expanded after World War II and the cut flowers were sent to the London wholesale market at Covent Garden by steam train, including bunches of locally grown Devon violets and pinks.

One of the main projects to emerge from the task force was a 5 year programme of R&D and knowledge transfer jointly funded by the government and the industry to advance the responsible use of all growing media materials so that the industry could either meet peat reduction targets or demonstrate the constraints imposed by the targets.

This paper reviews progress with the programme of development work and summarises the work that remains to be done.

It takes years of hard work to develop and commercialise new plants but that is just the start — then you have to market them. This paper outlines some of the key ways to get your plants in front of the consumer.

ENTICING CUSTOMERS TO BUY YOUR PLANT

Excite Them

It is crucial when selling any plant — either to the consumer directly, or the retailer in volume, that you pique their interest. Explain how the customer will benefit from owning it. For example, if you are selling a new type of fern (not necessarily the most visually stimulating of plants), explain how there is no better a group of plants than ferns for dealing with those "problem corners."

Inspire Them

Sell the promise of what the plant will provide, and how it can be grown with other plants. Sticking with ferns as our example, show that they are easy, low maintenance plants that need minimal care. They are virtually immune to attack from slugs and other pests. They deliver a lot while asking for very little in return.

The foundation of Iseli Nursery is an unwavering focus on delivering high-quality plant material to many of the best independent garden centers in North America. Grafted conifers are a significant part of our business. I will share the steps and methods we take for grafting during the calendar year as a seasonal outline. Before we start grafting we work on the production plan. It is rather complex and time consuming to create, but the end result is the blueprint we use to determine how many of which items to graft. Using historical metrics, current demand, and forecasting we hone the list of cultivars to propagate. Our list of production items for 2013 was 266 cultivars from 17 genera. Additionally, we grafted 260 evaluator cultivars last season that are in various stages of development. A select few will become new introductions after years of evaluation.

Responding to the ever-changing opportunities offered by the Internet, the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University (OSU) decided to offer an online degree in General Horticulture. With assistance from the College of Agriculture and Extended Campus, the first few courses were available in 2009. One of the required courses for this new degree was HORT 311 — Plant Propagation which would be offered Winter Term.

Since 2008, I taught the on-campus course in plant propagation, which includes a lab section where the students experience hands-on grafting, seed germination and seedling growth, cuttings, and layering. When asked to develop the online class in plant propagation my response was "How do I teach plant propagation online? What about the labs?" Frankly, I felt that this type of course could not be taught online and I resisted developing one.

As the number of online, degree seeking students continued to increase, I realized that I must come to terms with developing a plant propagation course. So I let go of what I was doing for the on-campus students and put myself in the position of the online student. My daughter had taken several online high school courses that gave me a little more insight into what was possible. In addition, support from Ecampus and other faculty who had developed online courses helped me to shape a vision.

The economic success of nursery production is intimately connected with the array of plants being grown for sale. This array is a constantly changing mix of species and cultivars. Tastes change, resource availability and costs change, pests and pathogens evolve, and, every day, those involved with breeding and cultivar development deliver new choices bred and selected from a very diverse range of plants to propagators and growers. The ultimate goal for each firm is to develop an inventory of selected plants that gives value and satisfaction to their customers while ensuring profitable production.

If we look carefully at this situation, it’s clear that plant biodiversity is the foundation of the new cultivars that feed changing tastes, allow for more efficient resource use, and hold the keys to pest and pathogen resistance. That diversity, which I’ll refer to as germplasm, exists in many forms and places, from natural plant communities to public gardens, private collections and genebanks. In this paper, I’d like to present information about how the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) has gone about involving its customers in the process of building valuable, comprehensive germplasm collections for plant genera of interest to IPPS members, along with a few budding success stories.

I believe the objective should be to produce as natural a root system as possible with straight, non-circling or even deflected roots in the liner leading to a good long-term root system with lateral support/feeder roots and some straight roots going deeper to create support. The Eucalyptus transplant root system in Figure 2 is almost indistinguishable from a natural root system.

Turkey is the largest producer of hazelnuts by far with about 70% of world production. Oregon produces from 3% to 5% of the world’s supply. In Turkey the cultivars grown are smaller in stature, bearing smaller nuts that are more conducive for use as kernels than as inshell. Trees are grown as bushes that grow on the sometimes steep hillsides along the Black Sea. There are thousands of growers that have 1 or 2 ha of hazelnuts planted. The hazelnuts are harvested by hand and spread out to dry in the sun. When dried and husked they are transported to very large modern processing facilities where most are shelled, further processed and shipped throughout the world. Notably, the dependency on the weather for the drying process can be disastrous for the industry. Timely drying is imperative for top quality product.

The North American Plant Protection Organization conducted an analysis of the pest introduction data. The research concluded that the following factors have resulted in ineffective prevention of stopping the introduction of serious pest species.

Sustainable Conservation’s initiative to stop the sale of invasive ornamental plants in California’s horticultural industry, PlantRight, is introducing its Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE) tool to commercial leaders in the horticultural industry. We are working to promote adoption by the industry and have launched a pilot project with a handful of leading growers and propagators who introduce new horticultural plants to determine how our tool can fit into their new plant development process. We developed the PRE tool, which has a 98% accuracy rate in predicting invasive plant characteristics, in collaboration with University of California, Davis (U.C. Davis) and the University of Washington to screen plants with the long-term goal of industry wide adoption to prevent the introduction of new ornamental invasive plants in the nursery supply chain.

Screening new ornamental plants to determine the risk of invasiveness is the most costeffective way to prevent the introduction of invasive plants (Leung et al., 2001; NISC, 2001). The PRE tool estimates the risk of an ornamental plant species becoming invasive in a defined geographic or climatic region, which can help a company determine not only where a given plant species (or subspecies) poses a potential invasive risk, but also where it does not represent an invasive risk and could potentially be grown and sold.

Today I want to share, from personal experience, a story about the health and vigor of a certain propagator (me), and how a "plant-based" disease caused no little consternation for over 4 years until it was properly diagnosed and treated.

MY NUGGET IS ABOUT MAKING THINGS HAPPEN

During our IPPS meeting in Portland this year, I asked our entire group to help illustrate my message and they did it with gusto. When I asked everyone to get up and move to one side of the room, it took 23 s for about 100 people to get there. I didn’t even ask them to do it quickly! The challenge given was for each person to cross the room in a different way than those who went before them. How many ways are there to cross a room? It took about 20 min, helped along with some lively rock and roll music and the results were often hysterically funny. Cartwheels, jumping jacks, zigzag, with cell phones, bumping into walls, hopping, skipping, hopping backwards, oogling your spouse with binoculars (thanks Mike Evans!) reading a newspaper, yoga, queenie waves…on and on it went.

There are many different styles of tents that can be used for this process, from simple to elaborate. Since we grow so many plants in this manner I looked for a repeatable, simple-to-access, and easy-to-sanitize system. I found that portable outdoor canopy makers have a straightforward system utilizing pre-made connections that can be used to assemble these incubator tents. I use electrical metallic tubing (EMT) to attach the canopy connectors to form the structure of the tents.

The Agricultural Research Service, USDA, has developed and released five dark-leaf crape myrtles: ‘Ebony Fire’, ‘Ebony Flame’, ‘Ebony Embers’, ‘Ebony & Ivory’, and ‘Ebony Glow?. The cultivars are predominantly Lagerstroemia indica in heritage. As with most hardy crapemyrtle cultivars, selections are generally top hardy in USDA Hardiness Zone 7 and root hardy to Zone 6 if properly hardened for winter conditions. Plants have exceptional flowers and outstanding disease resistant foliage which maintains its dark color throughout the summer. Plants start flowering in south Mississippi in late June, with best flowering and most intense foliage color displayed when plants are grown in full sun. ‘Ebony Fire’ is first to flower while ‘Ebony Embers’ is last to begin flowering.

Tree lilacs are generally considered to be popular and smart choices for street and utility plantings because of their hardiness, rugged nature, and ability to thrive under adverse urban conditions. In particular cultivars of the Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulate subsp. reticulate (Blume) H. Hara) and Peking lilac (S. reticulate subsp. pekinensis Rupr.) are often promoted for municipal plantings and for home use. Virtues of these trees include the ability for use in U.S.D.A. hardiness from Zones 3(4) through 7, tolerance to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses; as well as, ornamental flowering and in some cases exfoliating bark which adds to aesthetic appeal. Under cultivation in North America, garden escapes have been documented in Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and in Ontario (Canada). To prevent garden escapes and to decrease land management inputs, the use of sterile or low fertility cultivars from some "weedy taxa" have been promoted within some regions. One technique used to develop sterility is ploidy manipulation.

Having this vast genetic pool available to me, I began my work with three primary goals in mind when hybridizing in subgenus Yulania:

• Develop later blooming magnolias that will not be harmed by late spring frosts.
• Develop magnolias that will be hardy in a U.S.D.A. Zones 4 and 5 environments.
• Extend the blooming period of magnolias.

Before I begin to discuss grafting of rhododendron it might be best to introduce our company. Decker Nursery was founded in 1921 by my Grandfather, Paul Offenberg. He was a professionally trained horticulturalist from Holland and brought with him, along with many other European immigrants, the propagation skills necessary to found the Paul Offenberg Nursery. Through the Great Depression, World War II, and the emergence of horticulture in the post war era, Offenberg Nursery grew into another generation with Bernard Decker, Paul’s son-in-law, as President. In 1981 the Offenberg Nursery relocated, reorganized, and changed its name to Decker Nursery, Inc.

PROPAGATION AND PRODUCTION

Seedling Production

Over the past 32 years, through Johnson’s Nursery in Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin, I have worked on developing a seedling strain of C. caroliniana that has a high percentages of seedlings (70% +) with brilliant orange-red fall color for the Upper Midwestern part of the country. It has been called C. caroliniana J.N. Strain. This strain has incredible vigor when compared to seedling plants grown from wild collected seed from our area. Because of this, production times for this species have been significantly decreased at our nursery. It takes 2 years less to finish a 5 ft shrub form B&B plant than it did when we used wild collected seed from what we had suspected were inbred ecotypes in the mid-80s.

In the past cheesecloth has been used mostly for shading and moisture distribution. Our use of cheesecloth distributes moisture evenly and also brings the moisture to the surface of the leaves and stem. Our use of cheese cloth differs from the use in the past because we are laying the cloth directly on the cuttings not using a structure to support the cloth above the cuttings.

Figure 1 shows one person sticking cuttings in their own flat, a method that we used for 20 years (pre-lean flow). Following training in lean flow methods in 2009, we found that by changing to progressive or an assembly-line sticking method, we were able to increase productivity by 15% (Fig. 2). This method uses three people sticking flats. The first person removes the medium-filled flat from the upper conveyor and sticks approximately one-third of the cuttings. The second person sticks approximately one-third of the cuttings. The third person will finish sticking what is needed and place a plant label on the flat and move the finished flat to the lower conveyor. This method works very well when training new workers or trying to bring slower workers up to speed by placing the slower person in the middle so that they are pushed by the worker on their right and left sides.

INCENTIVE DRIVEN TASKS AT PRIDES CORNER FARMES

• Fertilizing: Measured per spoon application with 4 to 5 individuals in a fertilizing crew.
• Potting: Measured in number of plants potted per day with approximately 12 to 14 people in a potting crew.
• Covering houses in the fall: Measured in amount linear feet covered per day; approximately 12 individuals in a covering crew.
• Spacing: Measured in number of plants spaced per day, made up of 3 person crews.
• Consolidation: Measured in number of plants put away each day, made up of 3 person crews.

Space at Prides Corner Farms is always at a premium and requires careful planning so that everything gets done as quickly as possible in a way that the plants are never compromised.

Minnesota in the winter is not the ideal place to try to propagate woody ornamental cuttings. Cold temperatures and low light conditions make rooting cuttings a real challenge. So when Bailey Nurseries (www.baileynursery.com) in St. Paul, began reading about how European growers were using light emitting diodes (LED) lights to root cuttings it piqued our interest.

In 2011, we worked with Philips and Hort Americas (our supplier and technical support — the contact info is Chris Higgins at chiggins@hortamericas.com) to design a separate propagation room not in the greenhouses to trial the LED lights.

OUR START IN 2011 WITH LIGHT EMITTING DIODES LIGHTS

We started our trial in Feb. 2011 and ran a range of crops under the lights. We used three Cannon carts tied together side by side to form one large shelf that can hold up to 15 trays.

At our Minnesota seedbeds we are growing 80 species of trees and shrubs from seed. Seedling crops are regularly monitored in the seedbeds throughout the growing season to evaluate acceptability for continued use as a seed source for the future.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, The Morton Arboretum, and the nursery consortium Ornamental Growers’ Association of Northern Illinois ((OGA) are the corporate members of the Chicagoland Grows^®, Inc., plant introduction program. Founded in 1986, the introduction program is dedicated to the development, testing, and introduction of landscape plants to the industry, gardens of the Midwest, and comparable climates in the USA, Canada, and Europe. In support of Chicagoland Grows, Chicago Botanic Garden initiated a perennial plant breeding program in 1995, which has developed to date the Prairieblues^™ false lupins, the Meadowbrite^™ coneflowers, and other selections.

Plant propagation at Chicago Botanic Garden supports the breeding program in two general ways. The breeding program produces seed from controlled crosses, which are then germinated in-house and grown on for further breeding. Once individual plants are selected for testing as potential introductions, then vegetative propagation protocols are applied to ensure the genetic integrity of the propagated plants. The remainder of this paper will present the seed and vegetative propagation protocols we have utilized for selected genera in the breeding program. The Chicago Botanic Garden is in northern Illinois in U.S.D.A. Zone 5a, for comparison of propagation dates in other regions.

The genus Aronia, commonly known as chokeberry, is a genus of deciduous, multistemmed shrubs native to eastern North America. Three species of chokeberry are commonly accepted: A. arbutifolia, red chokeberry; A. melanocarpa, black chokeberry; and A. × prunifolia, or purple chokeberry. The third species, A. × prunifolia, is generally considered to be a naturally occurring, interspecific hybrid between A. arbutifolia and A. melanocarpa.

ARONIA AS AN ORNAMENTAL CROP

Aronia is widely adaptable and performs well under a range of cultural conditions. It is a multi-season ornamental which produces showy white flowers in spring, red or black fruits in the summer or fall, and showy orange and red fall foliage color. The chokeberries have been recommended as native replacements for exotic invasive shrubs including Euonymus alatus and Berberis thunbergii.

Seedlings are purchased from various vendors and shipped to us in February and March. The seedlings are typically 1 year old and are ¼ caliper. The tops and roots are trimmed to prepare the seedlings for planting. Tops and roots are trimmed so that they will fit into the planter. Then they are bundled and palletized until planting.

We typically plow the ground that the understock is planted on in the fall of the previous year. If the soil is lighter a field cultivator can be used. Before planting in the spring, Treflan^™ herbicide, a grass preemergent herbicide, is applied at a low rate. No other herbicides are used until fall.

There is strong consumer interest in native plants for landscaping to create natural gardens that attract wildlife and are not invasive. For growers to capitalize on the native market, they must expand their product lines by adding new species. Landscape plants are often used in locations with challenging environmental conditions including reflected light, high temperatures, inadequate water supply, infertile soil, road salt, and pedestrian pressure. Expanded use of native species will be most successful if growers, landscapers and consumers know which native species will perform well in challenging landscape situations. Research I have conducted at the University of Connecticut has identified underused native shrubs that are adaptable and have the potential to become revenuegenerating crops for the nursery industry. Each plant offers gardeners multiple ornamental attributes such as interesting summer foliage, refined habit, edible fruits, attractive flowers, and respectable fall foliage color. These native shrubs have been unused in the landscape because their landscape adaptability was unknown and because production systems have not been developed. Some native shrubs are already being successfully produced by the nursery industry and are widely used in the landscape. Growers must be able to produce these newly identified native shrubs using production systems whose efficiencies are on par with those already used to produce successful native shrubs crops. The goal of the research presented here is to develop commercially viable propagation systems for these novel native shrubs.

Plant hormones (also phytohormones) are naturally occurring organic chemicals that are active in low concentrations. The traditional definition of a hormone is that they are synthesized at one location and translocated to their site of action. However, there are some exceptions for plant hormones. The five major plant hormones are auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, and ethylene. Additional compounds considered plant hormones include brassinosteroids, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and polyamines. Plant hormones are important to propagation because they act endogenously to regulate plant function and can be applied to induce specific responses such as root initiation in cuttings and dormancy release in seeds.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe all the actions for each of the plant hormones, but because of the importance of auxin to plant propagation, it will serve as the example for hormone action. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide some background for the use of auxin in cutting propagation and then describe the advances in hormone action that relate to the control of adventitious root initiation.

Over the years we have accumulated records of when it was the best time to take the cuttings. With some plants it didn’t matter as to when the cutting was taken. Some of the more difficult plants were based on a date as to when to evaluate the cuttings. These plants would take precedence over the other cuttings scheduled in that time frame. We have looked at tying the stick date to degree days but have found that the 2 week window we currently use works just as well. The other issue tied to the stick date was getting cuttings done early enough to meet the production schedules that we have set.

Due to the fact that a lot of things were remembered by several key people it was decided to use a database (FileMaker^®) to form a "recipe card" to produce the plant. It was set up similar to a note card system. The demo that you will see has evolved over time. Just like everything else we have adapted and changed to create something that gives us what we want or what we think we want at that point in time. We were fortunate to have Dan White to oversee the FileMaker system. He has done all of the custom work we’ve requested over the years.

To this end we produce a diverse range of plant material both in containers and in the field. We already were doing most of our own propagating by soft and hardwood cuttings, root cuttings, seed, divisions and had developed a successful bed system for developing a sizeable liner as well as finished size boxwood and other plants for B&B or to containerize. We look on the open market to find the unusual plants we are interested in producing as well as sources of liners for plants we find difficult to produce internally.

We did not have a grafting program and had to locate all grafted liners. We had a 30 ft × 100 ft polyhouse with bottom heat we were using for summer propagation of softwood cuttings but were using for minimum heat overwintering in winter. The individual managing our bed production had abilities with budding that we were choosing not to use because he was too busy managing the 15 acres of beds through the growing season but had little to do in the winter months.

In January of 1999 and again in 2000 I sent him to help a conifer grafter to learn how to graft and paid him to work for "free." He learned quickly grafting small evergreen scions on seedling understock in tree bands using a side veneer graft. He saw how a great number of plants could be produced by this method in a limited amount of space for sale as liners, but that the resulting plants were of a small size adding time to grow a finished product.

Root system health is dependent on a good balanced level of oxygen and air porosity. The necessity of O₂ is required to deliver the needed nutrient balance to the surface of the root tissue. Too much water in your medium over a given time can create anaerobic conditions in your containers creating off-gases that are unhealthy for O₂ production and fine root system development. Uptake of nutrients is dependent on a healthy root system tissue, rooting environment, and continual production/branching of a lateral root system (unobstructed). Ideally, you want to increase your root-to-soil surface area as quickly as possible in the early stages of plant development, whether you are starting from seed, cuttings, or tissue culture (look at lateral root growth as your total catch basin, like an umbrella effect). To achieve this goal, container design and media quality are required at the start of your propagation.

Plant stress is a problem that can have immediate or longer-term consequences. While individual stressors, such as hail damage, can be identified as a single cause of plant problems it’s more common to have more than one stressor involved. Multiple stressors can result in damage either concurrently or sequentially.

My definition "stress" is the condition where an environmental factor or factors exceed the natural regulatory capacity of a plant and results in decreased growth or performance. Why do growers become frustrated when told that the problem is due to stress? To maximize returns, nurserymen need to control as many production variables as possible and stress is typically unpredictable and not always manageable.

Plants are adapted to their native habitat so a key factor in diagnosing stress-related injury is to understand environmental factors that make up the habitat in which they perform best. Important environmental factors include temperature, moisture (including humidity), light quantity and quality, wind or the lack thereof, soil characteristics, and nutritional needs. Each part of the plant’s native environment when compared to a new environment helps identify how well a plant adapts.

Throughout history roses have been admired for their beauty, perfume, food, drink and medicinal properties. The rose has been admired through art in paintings, in china, architectural elements, and illustrations. Everyone seems to appreciate the beauty of the rose. At least 10 countries have selected the rose as their national flower including the United States of America. What would our landscapes be without roses adorning them?

There is a rapidly spreading disease that threatens the genus Rosa throughout the Midwest and has also been identified west of the Rockies. The disease of concern has been identified as rose rosette disease (RRD) also termed rose rosette virus ((RRV).

Gibberellins and cytokinins are considered to be part of the five major key hormones in plants. The others are auxins, ethylene and absisic acid (Chen and Shepley, 1975). All five interact with each other to directly affect cell systems and indirectly by signaling pathways to maintain balanced ratios (Perilli et al., 2010; Perniosava et al., 2011). Gibberellins ((GAs) and cytokinins, are instrumental in many growth processes (Bernier 1988; Chen and Shepley, 1975; Heldt et al., 2011) such as initiation of floral parts, flowering itself, fruiting, leaf and stem morphology, and seed germination. Changes in the ratios of GAs and cytokinins to each other and to the other hormones often result in distinct and divergent morphological features such as dwarfism, contorted or twisted growth, weeping forms, fastigate, and columnar forms and unique leaf forms.

For the month of February 2012, my time at the Kosugi Garden Seminar, Atami City, Japan, was well spent in an intensive learning experience that I would recommend to professionals interested in Japanese gardening history and techniques. Partnering with the European Landscape Association, the "in English" session drew participants from around the world. Dr. Andreas Hamacher developed this course which he conducts fluidly by moving between in English, German, Japanese, and Chinese. The third week focused on hands-on demonstrations of maintenance, nursery operations, and nursery tours which will be the focus for this 20 min photography tour.

The northern Great Plains is a diverse intercontinental environment with limited woody plant species that have been evaluated for use in U.S.D.A. Hardiness Zones 3 and 4. Dr. Dale E. Herman developed the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Woody Plant Improvement Program in the 1970s. Over the years, the Program has introduced 51 superior woody plants for production with increased winter hardiness and cultural tolerances for landscapes throughout the northern Great Plains.

Eastern redbud (Cercis Canadensis L.) is a common woody legume landscape tree with a hard seed coat that is impermeable to water ((Geneve, 1991). Legume seeds are classified as being physically dormant ((Baskin and Baskin, 1998). Most temperate woody legumes display only physical dormancy, but eastern redbud also has a physiological dormancy that requires chilling stratification for germination (Geneve, 1991).

Alleviation of physical dormancy in tree seeds usually involves scarification to mechanically abrade the seed coverings or more commonly seeds are treated with concentrated sulfuric acid to scarify the seed surface (Hartmann et al., 2011). Alternatively, redbud seeds respond to hot water treatments to relieve physical dormancy (Geneve, 2009). Young and Young (992) in the Seeds of Woody Plants in North America recommend treating redbud seeds in boiling water (100°C) for 60s. They also indicate that seeds have been placed in 82°C water and allowed to cool overnight, but do not indicate how effective the treatment was for alleviating physical dormancy. Hot water treatment would be preferable for scarification of large quantities of seeds because it avoids safety and disposal issues associated with sulfuric acid scarification. However, it is not known if heat treating redbud seeds to relieve physical dormancy impacts subsequent release from physiological dormancy during chilling stratification or seedling vigor during germination.

The major objective of the current study were to compare the effects of physical, hot water, and acid scarifications on seed germination and embryo growth in eastern redbud prior to and after chilling stratification.

Uncaria rhynchophylla (kagikazura or the cat’s claw herb) is a plant species used in traditional Chinese medicine and also kampo (Japanese study and adaptation of traditional Chinese medicine), and is a woody plant found widely in Japan and China. It contains alkaloids rhynchophylline, iso-rhynchophylline, hirstine, and others (Shi et al., 2003) which are good for treating high blood pressure and dementia. In addition (+ (-Catechin and (- )-epicatechin are also found in the plant (Hou et al., 2005). It is in four of the 148 Kampo medicine formulae. Kampo herbal medicines are regulated as pharmaceutical preparations and their ingredients are exactly measured and standardized. Access to Kampo herbal medicines is guaranteed as part of Japan’s national health plan for each of its citizens. For the purpose of micropropagation and development of a basis for useful substance production by breeding and cell culture, a tissue culture procedure was developed for this species.

We have focused our attention on the behavior of certain ions, especially iron ion in water or interactions of water molecules with them. Since 1984, Akatsuka Garden Company has continued research on various solutions to not only accelerate plant growth, but also activate physiological functions of plants. Based on this research, we have developed FFC materials such as FFC-Ceramics (a water improvement device), FFC-Ace (a soil conditioner), and others. In addition, many agricultural producers in Japan have been utilizing FFC materials to rejuvenate plants and increase profits. Those producers have also explored many other original methods for using FFC materials, and consequently found good ways to fit them into their actual production sites. As a result, they have obtained many advantages over the years of use, such as, productivity enhancement, cost reduction, decreased amount of agricultural chemicals required, and others. In addition, it is reported that FFC-Ace enhances the growth of plants under laboratory conditions, improves disease resistance, and drought and salt stress tolerance of plants (Ichikawa et al., 2013; Fujita et al., 2010; Hasegawa et al., 2006; Konkol et al., 2012; Shiraishi et al., 2010; Toyoda et al., 2010). In this paper, we will report a part of the results on the effectiveness of FFC-Ace on wine grape vines under field conditions.

Peptides are short amino acid chains and peptide hormones such as growth hormone, insulin, and vasopressin are well known as important hormones in animals. Peptides also exist in plants and, in recent years, many studies have demonstrated that peptide signaling plays a great role in various aspects of plant growth and development. Plant physiologists have found over 15 plant peptide hormones. Systemin is an 18 amino acid peptide and its main function is to coordinate defensive responses against insect herbivores through the production of jasmonic acid. Phytosulfokine is 5 amino acid peptide and promotes proliferation of plant cells. Stomagen is 102 amino acid peptide and controls differentiation of stomata. LUREs are 83 and 93 amino acid peptides that were identified as pollen-tube attractants.

Rockwool has been developed as a nutrient culture medium in the Netherland. The rockwool culture system was introduced to Japan in 1983 and has been expanding in tomato and rose culture. Rockwool as a culture medium has been used in a slab bed system. In this system the rockwool fibers are mixed with a binder and formed into a rectangular shape. In contrast to the rockwool slab, granular rockwool has not been popular, although granular rockwool for potted plant media is effective for improving of physical soil conditions. We believe the reason for granular rockwool’s lower popularity is high price. On the other hand, granular rockwool has attracted attention as an alternative construction material to asbestos and every year has been used at 200,000 tons in Japan. So we converted rockwool used in the construction field to the agricultural field, and developed a new granular rockwool for horticulture.

President Saunders welcomed everyone to Athens, Georgia, for the 38th Annual Meeting of the International Plant Propagators? Society-Southern Region of North America. He thanked Local Site Committee Chair, Matt Chappell and his committee and volunteers for the long hours in arranging the excellent tours, hotel, other planning activities and all their attention to detail. He welcomed students, first time attendees and new members, asking them to stand and be recognized. Saunders thanked the Executive Committee, and Maarten van der Giessen?s Sponsorship Committee, which raised $42,000 in cash sponsorships; this was outstanding with the challenging economic times. He asked sponsors to please stand and be recognized for their support. Saunders encouraged the membership to visit and show their support of our sponsors during the meeting. He encouraged all members to make new members and first-time attendees feel welcome — share with them and seek from them.

When talking about ornamentals, we did introduce the Magnolia grandiflora to Asian countries (East) more than 120 years ago and the plant has been widely cultivated in Asian gardens and landscape. But, until today, only two cultivars were developed in China, while we (USA) had at least 85 cultivars on the market. If comparing the natural species of Magnolia (narrow-sense), China has 38 species while only eight are native to the USA (Wu and Raven, 1994). Nandina domestica was introduced to the West in 1804 and more than 36 cultivars have been developed and marketed in USA (Dirr, 2009). In China, all N. domestica have been marketed as the species, with no cultivar development. Obviously, the natural resource of ornamental plants is much richer in East, than the West. In term of new plant breeding, we are more advanced than that of the East. The marriage of East and West is imperative in the field of ornamental horticulture. We can fully utilize natural ornamental plant resource (East) and traditional and advanced plant breeding technology (West) for breeding better ornamental plants for our nursery industry and gardens.

Root rot caused by the invasive soil fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi is a major source of mortality in Rhododendron and many other popular ornamental genera (Benson and Broembsen, 2001). The pathogen may also restrict the natural occurrence or horticultural use of Rhododendron species and cultivars in the Southern USA. Phytophthora cinnamomi is more problematic in warmer climates because it is susceptible to frost and thrives in warm, wet soils (Brasier, 1996; Marcais et al., 1996). Epidemiologists predict that global warming will increase both the activity and northward migration of the pathogen (Anderson et al., 2004; Bergot et al., 2004).

Genetically-conferred host resistance to P. cinnamomi offers an additional and sustainable method of disease management in additional to existing cultural and chemical controls. Among some Rhododendron subgenera — notably Tsutsusi (evergreen azaleas) — resistance is found at relatively high frequency (Benson, 1980), which may explain why this group of plants thrives in the warmer regions of the USA (e.g., the Gulf South). In contrast, resistance among large-leafed, elepidote rhododendrons (subgenus Hymenanthes) occurs at less than 3% frequency (Hoitink and Schmitthenner, 1974; Krebs and Wilson, 2002), and garden use of this group is restricted to more northern, cooler regions of the USA. A notable exception is the elepidote species R. hyperythrum from Taiwan — it is resistant to root rot and both the species and hybrids derived from it perform well in southern Louisiana (Thornton, 1990).

Camellia japonica is a large shrub or small tree native to a broad band of territory in East Asia, including parts of China (Shandong, Zhejiang), Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. It is found in mountainous areas and frequently on rocky hillsides near the ocean.

Cultivated forms of C. japonica were introduced to Europe in the early 1700s and to the United States of America in the early 1800s, where they eventually became a familiar feature of southern gardens. The earliest introductions were mostly, if not all, Chinese cultivated cultivars, followed by many introductions from Japan.

Until recently, the outdoor cultivation of camellias in the eastern United States was limited to U.S.D.A. Zones 7 to 9. Washington D.C. was considered to be the northern limit of hardiness, and even there most camellias were killed or severely injured in the coldest winters. Unusually cold weather in the late 1970s and early 1980s killed almost all of the 900 cultivars of camellias at the U.S. National Arboretum. Except for a few plants in the most favorable coastal locations along the Atlantic coast as far north as Martha?s Vineyard, camellias were impossible to grow outside the South without protection from winter wind and cold.

I was a Pre-Forestry major whose only formal plant materials courses were introductory Dendrology Horticulture classes. After working a summer at a wholesale nursery, my major was changed to Plant Science with a Bachelor of Science awarded in 1979. So Sylvaculture, Soil Science, and Agronomy were as important in my college education as Horticulture.

This was followed by an 8 year "graduate program" with a field-grown and container nursery where I worked in propagation, production, sales, harvesting, and shipping of mainline woody trees and shrubs and groundcovers.

In 1988, after deciding it was time to start my own business, I opened my own nursery and worked with plants that were from my earlier education: trees and shrubs of native woodlands and a few exotics. As I learned more of the landscape uses of these natives, impetus was placed on visiting and studying the diverse habitats and plants of the area and making germplasm collections.

Over irrigating is a common problem in container-plant production because of poor uniformity and efficiency of irrigation systems (Fare et al., 1992) and the preference of growers to deal with the consequences of applying too much water vs. too little (Yeager et al., 2010). Along with this, many growers apply large amounts of fertilizer out of concern that lower fertilizer applications could negatively impact growth (Owen et al., 2008; Tyler et al., 1996). The combination often excessive irrigation and high fertilizer rates leads to significant leaching of fertilizers, which has a negative environmental impact as the leachate enters local ecosystems (Lea-Cox and Ross, 2001). Many states now have laws and regulations regarding nutrient runoff from nurseries necessitating that growers better manage the irrigation and fertilization applications (Beeson et al., 2004).

Growers have already adopted more effective irrigation practices including cyclic irrigation, drip irrigation, and grouping similar sized containers (Yeager et al., 2010; Tyler et al., 1996). Better management practices for fertilization and nutrient leaching have also been adopted, including using controlled-release fertilizers that last throughout the production period and monitoring substrate nutrient levels (Yeager et al., 2010). However, to irrigate and fertilize more efficiently more research is needed examining how plant growth is affected by reduced irrigation and fertilization.

The Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia (UGA) were started in 1982 by Dr. Allan Armitage and Dr. Michael Dirr. Dr. John Ruter took over as Director of the Trial Gardens from co-founder Dr. Armitage in July of 2013. The mission of the UGA includes teaching, research, and new plant introductions. The UGA is an essential trialing site for heat and humidity tolerance for many of the world?s breeding companies. During most summers there are 50-60 days reaching & #8805;32°C (90°F).

Teaching in the garden focuses on two classes taught by Dr. Ruter, HORT 3500 taught during the fall semester which focuses on annuals, vines, and fall-blooming perennials, and HORT 3510, taught in the spring which focuses on bulbs, spring ephemerals, and early-blooming perennials. Both classes are taught as half-semester courses. The Trial Gardens are also utilized by classes from Agricultural Communications, Entomology, Landscape Architecture, Plant Pathology, and other departments from the Arts & Sciences.

As for research and trialing, we work with over 20 of the major breeding companies from around the world. In 2013 we evaluated over 750 annual taxa in ground beds, hanging baskets, and containers. Trials also include numerous perennials and 180 landscape roses. Overall there are approximately 2,000 different taxa growing on less than 0.3 ha (0.75 acre). Several plants have been introduced to the trade via the Trail Gardens over the past 20 years (http: / /ugatrial.hort.uga.edu/). This tradition will continue in the future as Dr. Ruter releases plants from his breeding program at UGA.

Ruellia is one of the largest genera in the Acanthaceae, consisting of approximately 250 species of perennial herbs, subshrubs, and shrubs, which are found mostly in tropical and subtropical areas. There are many accepted synonyms for Ruellia simplex (R. brittoniana, R. coerulea, and R. tweediana) with the name R. simplex being the first documented, therefore having taxonomic priority. Ruellia simplex ( "Mexican petunia") is found in sunny areas on periodically inundated soils in Mexico, the Antilles, and southeastern South America (Ezcurra and Daniel, 2007). It was introduced to Florida sometime before 1940 (Hupp et al., 2009), and since then has become a very popular landscape plant in southern USA due to its high and continuous flowering and low maintenance requirements (Gilman, 1999). However, this introduced plant has escaped cultivation and become invasive in natural areas. For several years, ‘Purple Showers’ with tall habit and purple flowers was the only sterile commercial cultivar. Since 2007, the breeding objective at University of Florida (UF) has been to develop sterile cultivars with different flower colors such as pink, white, white with a purple corolla tube, and potentially different growth habits, such as, tall, semi-dwarf, and dwarf. Breeding approaches are ploidy manipulations and interspecific hybridizations.

Home gardening consumers want new and improved ornamental plants for their landscape. One of the focus areas for ornamental horticulture over the years has been the development of new plant cultivars. New plants spark interest among retailers, landscapers, and especially consumers and provide diversity in the landscape. One of the challenges of trial gardens, plant companies introducing plants, retailers, nursery growers, and others, is developing innovative ways of providing a way to effectively communicate results showing ?real world? production and landscape performance of these new cultivars to their customers and the gardening public.

INTRODUCTION Appalachian Native Plants Inc. is a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to preserving and propagating native azaleas and rhododendron from seed. We are located near Mountain City in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north east Tennessee. The U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zone is 6A.

In practice there are many different native azalea seed propagation methods that yield relatively successful results. One of our goals is to produce healthy, fully rooted 50-cell plugs from seed in 6 to 8 months. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods are used throughout our plant production.

Growing azaleas and rhododendron from seed is an old topic which has been presented several times to International Plant Propagators Society meetings. Our plant mentor, Zophar Warner, gave a presentation titled "Azaleas from Seed" at the Forth Annual Plant Propagators Society meeting on 4 Dec. 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Since Nurseries Caroliniana specializes in many new and unusual plant selections that are not typically on the market, many plants are acquired where little to no propagation information is available. One must determine whether methods used should be similar to other plants in the same genus or family or whether completely new procedures should be explored. Methods which are investigated are seed, cuttings, grafting, budding or layering.

Pests pose a substantial threat to the sale of nursery crops (LeBude et al., 2012) and increase the cost of producing ornamental crops. For example, losses due to plant disease in Georgia nurseries were estimated at $43.4 million in 2007 (Martinez, 2008). Application of pesticides, as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, can serve an important role in decreasing plant mortality, maintaining plant quality to a market acceptable level, and complying with plant trade requirements (Cloyd, 2008). However, pesticide use by its very nature can pose a threat to human and ecosystem health. By refining pesticide applications, environmental and human risk can be reduced.

Air-assisted sprayers are conventionally used to apply pesticides to nursery crops. However, less than 30% of pesticide applications are intercepted by the intended nursery canopy (Zhu et al., 2006). Increasing spray application efficiency could improve worker safety by reducing active ingredient residue on plant surfaces and air contamination. Additionally, because of the increased efficiency, the tank would be refilled less frequently, reducing opportunities for the spray applicator to come into contact with concentrated pesticides during mixing. Increasing efficiency would not only reduce the total amount of active ingredients applied but also decrease the water footprint of each pesticide application, improving environmental quality.

The majority of root and crown diseases on ornamental crops are caused by oomycete pathogens, including species of Pythium and Phytophthora. Both Pythium and Phytophthora cause root, crown, stem, and foliage blights. Symptoms often include root softening, sloughing, darkening of roots, crowns and stems, wilting, foliage chlorosis, leaf drop, stem dieback, and leaf and petiole blighting.

Oomycete pathogens or "water molds" as they are commonly called, which also includes downy mildew causing pathogens, are unique and are not true fungi. They are more closely related to brown algae than fungi. One of the major differences between oomycetes and true fungi is in their cell wall components. Oomycete cell walls are composed of β-1,3 and β-1,6 glucans, whereas true fungi cell walls are composed of chitin. This is an important distinction because the mode of action of many fungicides is to act on and inhibit chitin cell wall biosynthesis. Since Oomycete cell walls do not contain chitin, these products have no activity on these pathogens. This has resulted in a limited number of commercially available fungicides with activity against Pythium, Phytophthora, and downy mildew diseases.

INTRODUCTION

Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Gardens is a collector’s garden, one that adds hundreds of new taxa each year to the plantings. Those that survive, perform well, and impress visitors make their way into propagation, promotion, and distribution. This program has introduced and promoted numerous plants through a wide range of print and electronic media, many of which have made an impact in the nursery industry, well been documented in past IPPS Proceedings.

Rhododendron calophytum Planch., commonly named large leaf Rhododendron or meili Rhododendron is in the Ericaceae family, Rhododendron genera. It is an endemic evergreen plant with beautiful flowers, found in high mountains at altitudes of 1,300 to 4,000 m in south-west China (Ran et al., 2010). This includes the Qinling Mountains, where the species is beneficial for helping to maintain the stability of the ecosystem. Rhododendron calophytum germplasm is endangered because of excessive excavation activities. Additionally, few cultivars are cultivated and utilized in modern city landscape.

In order to protect R. calophytum from extinction, help maintain its diversity, and utilization of its multiple-color landscape cultivars, it is necessary to develop propagation systems for R. calophytum. Seed propagation can be used to protect germplasm and enrich genetic diversity of the species (Zhang et al., 2010). More importantly, for wild resources, seedlings of diverse populations are more easily adapted to new environments than seedlings collected and transplanted from the mountains.

Abutilon, flowering maple, is a large genus in the mallow family. The genus comprises of 100-150 species and is distributed in the tropics and subtropics (Servin et al., 2013). Leaves are lobed, maple-like, and light green. Flowers come in red, pink, yellow, white, and pastel shades (Kim and Suh, 2013). The diversified and long-lasting flowers are very attractive and have brought a lot of attention from all over the world (Matlawska and Sikorska, 2005), especially in the southeastern United State of America.

Flowering maple should be placed in areas of full sun to light shade in well-draining moist soil. Light shade will prevent wilting during the hottest parts of the day. A fast grower in warm climates, Abutilon is generally hardy in U.S.D.A. Zones 8 and 9 and thrives in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. As for problems, flowering maple is sensitive to temperature fluctuations, which can cause leaves to drop. Higher temperatures experienced in some parts of southeastern USA can be detrimental to growth and development of flowering maple. In Georgia, temperatures can range from 27-38°C (80-100°F) in the summer. Consequently, wilting can happen to plants directly grown in the sun. This problem can be made worse if plants are grown in containers that hold small volumes of water and substrate (Yeager et al., 2010). Flower color, size, form, and longevity can also be compromised by extreme summer heat.

Many people see sanitation as simple control techniques with limited application. However, a technical definition of sanitation is any control action that lowers the initial pathogen level so that the amount of final crop loss is reduced or a damaging threshold of disease is delayed. The resulting reduction in disease, whether from a single control action or integrated disease management, can be dramatic and desirable (Daughtrey and Benson, 2005; Jones et al., 2001; Williams-Woodward and Jones, 2001(. Ultimately, pathogen reduction is a desirable goal that reduces the need for other controls or magnifies their effectiveness. The potential for pathogen reduction (sanitation) to be beneficial is greater in ornamental plant production than any other commodity system, yet this potential has not been imaginatively explored using current research concepts.

Binucleate Rhizoctonia species (BNR), the cause of web blight, are present all year on stems, in dead leaves below the canopy, and in the pine bark media of many containergrown azalea cultivars in the southern USA (Copes et al., 2011). Azalea shoots collected for stem cutting propagation can harbor the pathogen, thus allowing the pathogen to be carried into the propagation house. Temperature and moisture conditions in propagation houses are favorable for plant root development and pathogen growth, which allows Rhizoctonia to infest next year’s crop. Copes and Blythe (2009) showed binucleate Rhizoctonia can be eliminated prior to vegetative propagation by submerging stem cuttings in 51°C (123°F) water for 21 min. Root development progressed normally for 12 azalea cultivars.